what tankmates can i have with a bichir?

[fishmadness]

sorry guys im new to this... what kind of tank mates i can keep with bichirs? im probally getting couple small bichirs... probally polypterus senegalus.. thanks in advance...

[Kenta]

There are so many compatible tankmates. I think it would be easier to think of what you want with them and then post here to confirm that they are compatible. Most large fish and topdweller would be fine

I have an arowana, lima shovelnose, and clown knife with my bichirs

[WckedMidas]

ice got or had with them
midas
cons
polleni
flower horns
yellow labs
channa gachuas
tsn
tsn red tail cat hybrid
bullhead
uro
chren alta pike cichlid with no problems

[rayman45]

i have my 4 with gachuas

now with
1.gachuas
2-indo dats
2-frt
1 arowana

[Caveman]

I would try some Arowana, Geophagus, & Plecostmus also seem to mix real well with Bichir.

[beblondie]

The problem with some plecos they develop a taste for slimecoat and with their rasping teeth they can do serious damage to bichirs, If you want a pleco go with a bristlenose they seem to not bother bichirs.
As for tankmates this can vary with the species of bichir, upper jaws species IE> senegals, retropinnis, aand palmas complex have much smaller mouths then the lower jaw species IE. lapradei,endlicheri, so many tankmates can be different basicaly you want tankmates that are fairly non agressive,and big enouh not to fit into a bichirs mouth

[piranha45]

I kept mine with all sorts of CA and african cichlids pretty well.

[The TRUST]

My rule of thube for bichirs is. If they are not small enough to be swallowed then it should be OK.

[Monster VooDoo Fish]

I keep my Delhezi with
2 retic stingrays
2 Ctenopoma
4 Gachua
1 large Severum

[PhullTank57]

aros, gars, rays, dats, 'n payara... are some that i've kept w/ past bichirs. Basically, pretty anything that isn't small enough to fit in the bichir's mouth is cool! :thumbsup:

[guppy]

The problem with some plecos they develop a taste for slimecoat and with their rasping teeth they can do serious damage to bichirs, If you want a pleco go with a bristlenose they seem to not bother bichirs.
As for tankmates this can vary with the species of bichir, upper jaws species IE> senegals, retropinnis, aand palmas complex have much smaller mouths then the lower jaw species IE. lapradei,endlicheri, so many tankmates can be different basicaly you want tankmates that are fairly non agressive,and big enouh not to fit into a bichirs mouth
Yoyos and some other loachs do the same, at least they usually have softer mouths, they will drive thier targets nuts though.

[guppy]

aros, gars, rays, dats, 'n payara... are some that i've kept w/ past bichirs. Basically, pretty anything that isn't small enough to fit in the bichir's mouth is cool! :thumbsup:
Don,t foget to think about the other way round as well. I had a whitespotted pike cichlid that beat a bichir to death.

[neoprodigy]

Yoyos and some other loachs do the same, at least they usually have softer mouths, they will drive thier targets nuts though.
yeah.. stress some of my fish out...

[David R]

I'm also trying to decide on tankmates for a bichir, I just brought a 4" P. palmas ? (not sure which palmas it is yet) for my 4'x20"x20" tank. He's currently with a 4.5" ctenopoma and 4 clown loaches around a similar size. I'm thinking of getting either a tiger dat or a few uaru's and/or maybe another bichir, altho I've read mixed results about keeping bichirs together.
The tank will be upgraded to something around the 180g mark in the next 12-18 month when we finally buy our own house.

[sorry for the hijack, I thought there was enough bichir-noob threads without starting my own] ;)

[pufferking]

i have a convict,geophagus,payara,hujeta gar and a black ghost knife with mine

[guppy]

Try young dicus, I hate discus.

[David R]

LOL!!! If only I had that sorta money to throw away.......


Been browsing the photo galleries and have definately decided on at least one tiger dat, maybe more. At the moment another birchir is going to be too expensive considering the possibility they wont get on when bigger.

[piranha45]

well, I've seen/heard of ALOT more multi-bichir success stories than I have failures.. I can't actually recall a specific instance of someone mentioning it failing. They seem to be very social toward one another...

[Kenta]

bichir comms in general work very well, as long as you approach it the right way.

Provide hideouts for all bichirs, or none at all, that way you will minimize territory issues.
Provide them with a large enough tank, hideouts, plants, rocks and you're set.

Although, every now and then you will get a bichir with an attitude, that you just can't change.

[David R]

So is keeping two together generally a bad idea [one gets dominant and picks on the other etc] or do they usually only fight if there's lack of territories?? Is it better to mix species or get two of the same?? The lfs has palmas, delhezi and senegalensis at the moment, birchir's are generally pretty hard to come by down here, I've only ever seen them for sale once before the lot they have now.

[guppy]

you got it, lots of cover, big tanks, and more than 2. like a lot of fish 2 does not work. 3-5 and they will stake out smaller territories and squabble rather than fight cause they can't afford to get hurt. Almost human? :feedback: I have never kept bichirs but have had friends who did. I have kept multiple rope fish and havebeen told they act the same. It has been a while and both bichirs and ropefish have gotten A LOT cheaper. :hearts:

[neoprodigy]

i keep my bichirs with Emp cichlid and auss lungfish... so far so good!

[guppy]

For almost all territorial fish 3 is better than 2. 5 is better than 3.

[Kenta]

like a lot of fish 2 does not work. 3-5 and they will stake out smaller territories and squabble rather than fight cause they can't afford to get hurt
I keep an albino senegal and reg senegal together with no problems. Bichirs, provided they have enough room and hidouts, generally won't go after each other, even if its just a pair. They actually seem to enjoy each others company and pile on each other.

[guppy]

Cool, I will still play safe.

[WckedMidas]

man all my bichirs like to chill together 90 percent of the time only real loaner is my ornate but 80 percent time he chill with the other two

[guppy]

man all my bichirs like to chill together 90 percent of the time only real loaner is my ornate but 80 percent time he chill with the other two
Howmany?

[WckedMidas]

well i got three ornate , palmas and senegalis , in same tank with a channa gachua , 3 and a half inch jag, 3 inch yellow lab , 3 and a half inch polleni, aprox 3 inch tex ,and a 2 and a half inch con only ones that have issues are the jag polleni and yellow lab

[xrcisto]

What size tank do you have?

[Freshy]

tankmate for bichir

- spotted gar
- african pike
- stripped raphael cat
- marbled goby


:)

[deD3]

silver dollars...

[buddah101]

I keep mine (Lapredi) with an assortment of cichlids and characins and I have no problem at all. But I would give it a large spacious home with no agressive cellmates.

[Loubard]

http://photos.imageevent.com/codomo/bichircommunity/websize/IMG_3249.JPG
:woot: :D

This guy has so many bichir species together, but with no decoration as you can see, so there's just no opppertunity to make territoriums.

You can also check his album out @ http://imageevent.com/codomo

[cciesielski]

a catfish, bullhead ,tsn ,lsn,jd,texas cichlid,bp

[CDM]

Hehe, Loubard..... :naughty:

I've experienced:
American cichlid: OK, but, some might nip on bichir's dorsal fins.
Spotted gar: good
Tigrinus: good (under the condition of fed well)
Suckers (pleco, or semaprochilodus): bad, just a matter of time when they start to suck the slime coat of bichirs and kill them.
Arowana: depends on arowana's personality
Stingray: OK, but, too greedy for food.
Snakehead (Aurantimaculata is my case here) : good.

[drdpc]

I'm keeping 2 albino bichirs, 1 ornate, 2 severum, 1 pleco and i don't have problems!!